Hangover Paleo Tacos and Homemade Guacamole

    This has been a rather uneventful week.  My house is still in disarray from the party, I've been pretty slow at getting everything back in it's place. And with two toddlers things get messy pretty quickly. We're on a 3-day weekend from school. (didn't they just get back from winter break?) So with both of them here all day it's a challenge to keep things picked up.  But, today is my Monday so I hope to have my energy levels back up and get back on track. By the way, I've found a really great combo of vitamin supplements for energy. I recently added B-12, and Vitamin D to my regimen. I'm kind of a supplement junkie. The combination of Iron, Vitamin D, and B-12 is awesome! I've noticed a drop in fatigue, which is something I struggle with. Also, the change of quitting smoking and dropping bread and processed foods is contributing, I'm sure.

     I spent yesterday nursing a massive hangover from one too many margaritas after we went out for a friend's birthday Thursday night. I don't want to see a margarita or tequila for about a year. :P But, at the end of the day I still managed to whip up dinner. I found a great recipe for Paleo Tacos from completerecipes.com It was super delicious. I loved the bell peppers added to the ground beef and it was so light and refreshing without the tortilla. Steven was skeptical that there were no tortillas and I was calling them tacos, but I told him I'm thinking about his health which is really just another way to say I love you. ;)

I'm using their image because as I said, I was feeling awful and was not in the mood to be snapping awesome food pics. All I cared about was getting food in my stomach. Haha. You can find the full recipe here

What I did add was my own homemade guacamole. Again, no pic, but it's pretty straight forward.  The guac really sealed the deal for me. I didn't miss tortillas or cheese at all!

Fresh Guacamole

- 3 Hass avocados, halved and peeled

- half a red onion, roughly chopped

- the juice of 2 limes

- 1/4 cup cilantro

If you are a cilantro hater, you can leave it out. 

Add all your ingredients to a food processor.
If you want a chunkier guac, pulse until you get to your desired consistency. Otherwise blend until smooth.

Brooklynn's Birthday Brunch

     We have been busy busy busy since my last post. Saturday we held Brooklynn's party which was a brunch theme and everyone wore their pajamas. It was a fun idea that everyone enjoyed. It was a little stressful as I've never held a party in the morning and didn't leave nearly as much time to prepare. Thankfully the night before, my in laws came into town and my friends came over to help decorate. It was nice to have an indoor party. I didn't have to worry about weather messing up my decorations. It was a great theme for a winter birthday.

      My mother in law's birthday was the next day so I made a cake for her too and we sang happy birthday to her and Brooklynn together. I thought it was a sweet idea for a grandmother and granddaughter.

   And a huge surprise was that my sister-in-law asked me to be a bridesmaid!!! They are getting married in Lake Tahoe, California in March 2016! I am so so excited!

Isn't that the cutest way to ask someone to be a bridesmaid?!

  

I bought the book If You Give a Pig a Pancake  and had everyone sign it. It totally fit the brunch theme and the story is about a little girl.  

My sister-in-law's fiance.

The two birthday girls.

My sister-in-law (the bride-to-be) and our family friend.

Cousins

We also had muffins, cinnamon rolls, breakfast sausages, and bacon. Of course everyone went for the bacon and the cinnamon rolls first! Also lots of champagne, orange juice and coffee!

Of course James wanted in on the action.

Hahahaha she's only two and she's already mastered the death glare. 

Recipe: Trout Topped with Cucumber Salsa

     I have been craving fish a lot lately! Maybe it was the pleasant surprise of loving the fish sticks so much. I was browsing through my Cooking Light Cookbook and I came across a Trout recipe that sounded interesting and turned out beautiful and delicious! It was my first time filleting a whole fish. I've always been intimidated by it. But I found this great video to guide me. He makes it look super easy. Steven kept telling me I didn't have the right knife to do it. Haha. I used a boning knife and although it was harder than it looked, I did ok for my first try.  I prefer to leave the skin on the fish. I think it keeps it more moist. I served this Friday night which is one of Steven's days off and he said it was the best Trout he's ever had! Bon apetit!

Trout Topped with Cucumber Salsa

serves 4

Cucumber Salsa:

- 2 cups finely chopped seeded & peeled cucumber (about two large cucumbers)

- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots

- 1 1/2 tsp sugar

- 1 minced seeded jalapeno pepper

- 2 tsp minced cilantro

Fish:

- 2 tsp coconut oil

- 1 tbsp minced cilantro

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 1/4 tsp sea salt

- 1/8 tsp black pepper

-4 trout fillets

1) To prepare salsa, combine first 6 ingredients. Cover and chill 2 hours.

2) To prepare fish, heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper evenly over one side of the fish. Add fish cilantro side down, to pan, cook 3 minutes. Turn and cook 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. 

3) Top with salsa and serve.

Week Recap

I am happy to report, I'm feeling great now that I have finished my antibiotics and my sinuses are pretty much back to normal. Earlier this week Steven asked me how I was feeling. I replied, What do you mean?" He asked, "Physically? You don't remember being sick?" I had to laugh because it was already out of my mind. Thank god for fast acting meds!

     I am still adjusting to a much more quiet house again for half the day while James is at school. I was able to get a lot of cleaning done and organize some things that were neglected over the holidays. I still remember a time when holidays were relaxing. Now it's a lot of time and money and shuffling families back and forth. (But so totally worth it.) I'm glad that time of year has come to a close, and now am looking forward to all the fun that spring and summer bring! And I don't know if it's maybe early spring fever or having a quieter home again, but I am getting the baby itch again. ;) I'll save all that talk for another time though.

When progress reports came, I received this precious calendar from James. This month's print is my favorite.

     One of the things we got done this week was finally steam cleaning the upholstery on our dining room chairs. They were bad. I have protective covers over the chairs with the kids booster seats, but things still manage to get under there. 

Here is the before and after.

     We use this   Bisell Spotbot. I love this thing. It's compact and lightweight. We even use it to steam clean our couch! Brooklynn wanted to help. See how enthused she is? hahaha

     A big change for me this week on my paleo quest was giving up coffee! Coffee itself is paleo, but not with all the white sugar and half and half I add. I shocked myself when I decided that I prefer the tea!! Sometimes coffee felt so heavy to me. But the tea I chose was light and delicious. I add a little honey, and voila, it's still a caffeinated, sweet, steamy cup of something to jolt me to life in the mornings.

Tazo Tea

    And, I stumbled across a KitchenAid teapot that matches my food processor! This matching KitchenAid thing could get dangerous.

     I went to take Brooklynn on a little walk around our neighborhood and realized the umbrella strollers were in the trunk of the car with Steven at work. But, we have the teeny back pack with a little leash attached, (yes I guess I'm that mom), and we went out for a stroll both on foot. She was perfectly behaved! She walked right at my side, I didn't even need to hold the strap. Most of the time she wanted to hold it herself anyway. She was so chatty about everything, much more so than when she's in a stroller on the same walk. She waved and said hi and bye to every car that drove past. I turned it into a little lesson about crosswalks and stop, look, and listen. Which, I can't believe I'm now teaching that to my child, when it feels like my mom was just teaching me!

Skip Hop Safety Harness Backpack

     Sunday is Brooklynn's 2nd birthday! I am going to make a little cake and let her open a small present. The real birthday festivities will be on the 24th when we have her big party. I can't wait to share all the festivities!

     I hope everyone had a great week!

James Back to School

     Winter break felt like it lasted forever! It was 3 weeks off of school but James was sick for a week and half before break started so he was actually out of school for almost 5 weeks!

     He fell right back into the swing of things. His bus drivers said he was cheerful and giggly. His teacher said he remembered and followed his routine just fine.

     When James turned 3 he received his diagnosis of autism and sensory processing disorder (SPD), he started attending a 5 hour a day, 5 day a week preschool program for children with autism at a local elementary school. I was so nervous for him at the beginning. But I quickly noticed a huge positive change in his attitude.  

     Before entering preschool, he had a vocabulary of about 20 words and signs. For a 3 year old, that is incredibly low. After a week or two of being in school, he was attempting so many new words and sounds. He was bringing his school structure home with him as well. What a blessing those teachers are. I so appreciate the work they do and the patience they have!

    James came home with his first progress report of the year. Before each school year we sit down with his team of teachers, case workers, and local advocates to discuss what his academic goals are. Called an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). He has already met 4/5 of his goals!! Yipee!

     His annual goals and objectives are;

• Using a verbal prompt, he will use a functional system of communication, (signs, words, PECS), with 80% accuracy. Goal MET!
• Using a verbal prompt, he will repeat words/signs as modeled, with 80% accuracy.  Goal NOT MET.  James has demonstrated that he does imitate but only about 10-20% of the time, with maximum prompting.
• He will participate in circle time activities that involve the use of vocabulary, (songs, music, reading, etc.), with 80% accuracy. Goal MET!
• James will demonstrate meaningful, intentional communication with a social partner by attending, interacting, and participating with his peers during structured activities and play. To be observed at least 3-5 times daily. Goal MET! (well, only partially in my opinion) He will make eye contact and attempt to get an adult's attention before he requests what he wants by either pointing, or attempting to say the word. (Nothing noted about his interaction with his classmates)
• When given a prompt to transition, he will independently transition to a new activity with 100% independence on 4/5 transitions, on 3 different days. Goal MET! When handed his transition slip, he will say "purple", (the color that it is), and go to his visual schedule and check it without adult assistance and go to the correct area.

I am so looking forward to seeing what else he accomplishes by the end of the school year!

Cauliflower "Rice" and Korean Style "Rice" Bowl - 80/20 Paleo Friendly

Hello all, another day, another recipe. I pulled this rice bowl recipe from Rachael Ray's mag. But rice is a no-no on the Paleo plate. It's a grain.

Anyone wondering why grains get the nix on the Paleo diet? I sure was. For one, grains contain gluten, which is a sticky protein composite believed to cause gastro-intestinal issues. I won't go into details of the symptoms since I am sharing a recipe here, after all. =D But if you're interested in reading more you can order a copy of Paleo for Beginners: The Guide to Getting Started I've been interested in the paleo diet for a few years now, and picked up bits of pieces of information here and there over the internet. This book was great for me, because it put all the info in one place, answered many questions, and gave great explanations. Also, there is not much nutritional value in plain white rice. It's just a filler food. It makes you feel full, sure. But it's not providing your body with what it needs to function at it's best.

So back to the rice. Or lack thereof. Since this recipe is for a rice bowl, I had to figure a way around that. At first, I thought of just leaving it out all together. I thought, I'll just eat the vegetables and meat. No prob. But then I thought. Why? With all the immensely creative people online, someone has had to have thought of a substitute. And boy, did they. I dare say, I like this better than rice itself! Blasphemy? Maybe. You will have to taste it to believe it.

 Look at that. Just look at it. It looks like rice under there. Am I right?

Cauliflower Rice

serves 4

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- 1 large head of cauliflower, grated

- half a yellow onion, grated or finely diced

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1/4 tsp black pepper

you can adjust s&p at the end if you need more

1) Before you grate your cauliflower, Cut your cauliflower vertically into four sections. Make an angular cut to remove the stem. 

2) Heat coconut oil over medium high heat. Add cauliflower, onion, and garlic, turning to coat.

3) Add salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until crisp-tender , about 10 minutes.

4) give it a little taste, (and be amazed), and adjust salt and pepper to your taste, if needed.

This is what your cauliflower will look like after it's been through the bigger grating side on your food processor.

I received my KitchenAid 9-Cup Food Processoras a Christmas gift from my man. This is only the third time I've used it. It is such a time saver! I have always used a box grater and found it very annoying. And hey, after only a couple of years of mentioning I needed one, I got it! It's red, it's beautiful, I love it. 

Korean Style "Rice" Bowl

serves 4

- 2 cups cauliflower rice

- 2 cups snow peas sliced diagonally into about 1/2 inch pieces.

-3 medium carrots, shredded

- 1/4 head of green cabbage, shredded

-1 tbsp  plus 2 tsp coconut oil

- 4 eggs

- 1/2 lb precooked salad shrimp

- 4 green onions, thinly sliced

- garnish; soy sauce and sriracha

1) Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Add peas, carrots, and cabbage. Boil for 1 minute. Drain. Set aside.

2) In a large skillet, add 2 tsp coconut oil, add shrimp, cook until heated through. Add to vegetable mixture.

3)Heat remaining 1 tbsp coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add eggs. Cook until edges are set. About 2 minutes.Yolk should look orange and shiny. 

4) To build your bowl, place some cauliflower rice on the bottom, add veg/rice mixture. Top with one fried egg, top with some green onion. Add soy sauce and sriracha to taste.

If you want to keep this 100% Paleo, leave off the sauces. With the sauce garnishes this falls in the 80/20 Paleo plan, which I'm okay with.

perfectly shredded carrots

Side note, I ate the leftovers for lunch the following day, (today), and actually preferred the cold rice and veggies.  

Homemade Fish Sticks - Paleo Friendly

     So a huge hurdle to get over in my Paleo adventure is figuring out how to integrate it into my children's lives.  They don't get a lot of junk, but there are definitely pre-packaged, processed, grain based, and dairy items in their diets. I know my daughter will transition just fine. She is an adventurous eater, always willing to try something new and loves to watch and help me in the kitchen. My son however, is autistic and has some sensory problems. He is a very picky eater and has many food aversions. A huge problem is that if he doesn't recognize it, he doesn't want it. He will often pick up a food item, smell it, and put it down, never making it onto his little palate. 

     As a convenience, I started buying pre-packaged chicken nuggets and fish sticks. I would at least check ingredients to make sure that real meat was the first ingredient. But obviously these products are highly processed. 

     So this is where I start my toddlers on the paleo diet. Fish sticks. Whole pieces of real fish, no flour, not fried. I got a little inspiration from Pinterest, and I had at it! 

Paleo Fish Sticks

approximately 2 servings

- 1/2 lb swai chunks 

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1/2 cup almond meal

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1 tsp paprika

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1/4 tsp black pepper

1) Combine almond meal through pepper in a shallow dish.

2) Coat your fish with olive oil on both sides using a basting brush.

3) Toss fish pieces in almond mixture, coating thoroughly.

*see explanation below for cook times*

If you are ready to cook them now, bake at 400* for 5-8 minutes. If you are going to freeze them like I did, line a baking sheet with parchment, arrange coated fish pieces in one layer, not touching, and put them in the freezer. Once frozen through, you can put them all into a zip top freezer bag and back into the freezer for later use. From frozen cook fish at 400* for 12 minutes.

THESE ARE COMPLETELY DELICIOUS!!

     I chose to use only a half a pound because it was my first time and I want to make sure everyone likes them before I make a bigger batch. This will be my go-to lunch for Brooklynn this week and it's easy to just grab a few out of the bag and toss them in the oven as I need them. And you could probably use whatever fish you like. I chose the swai chunks because they were only $1.48 per pound at my supermarket this morning. If you use whole fish fillets, cut them into strips or small chunks.

  Bob's Red Mill was the brand of almond meal I chose. My grocery store had almond flour in the bulk section, but this was actually cheaper.

Our Weekend

Saturday was one of my best friend's baby shower. Her baby girl is due mid February.  She already has one child, a 13 month old son.

The shower was super cute, they served champagne and brunch. I got to catch up with her sisters and her mom who I grew up with.

After the shower Brooklynn and I went to my other best friend's place to hang out for the afternoon.

I had a massive headache all day, and no type of pain reliever would fix it.

Well, this morning, I woke up and felt like death. I thought for sure I had the flu after I had tossed and turned all night from an aching body with hot and cold sweats.

Steven and I spent a couple hours at the urgent care center to find out that I did not have the flu, but a really shitty sinus infection.  :(

He gave me an injection of what he referred to as "super Motrin" right into my butt cheek. Yep. It tickled.  He sent me off with prescriptions for a z-pack, prednisone and a nasal spray.

I got home in time to see my Dallas Cowboys get beat out... I think I'll just spend the rest of my Sunday resting on the couch sipping water and apple juice. Hopefully I'll feel better in a couple days. I'll at least get a little more rest this coming week as James' winter break is over and he goes back to school tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Recipe: Roasted Pork Chops and Veggies and my thoughts on the Potato/Paleo debate

While browsing through Rachael Ray's magazine, I came across a few recipes that sounded yummy, of course. This recipe comes across Paleo friendly to me. The discrepancy would be about the potatoes. I've been doing some research about why sweet potatoes are paleo approved but other potatoes are not. What I've learned is that potatoes are obviously, a very starchy tuber. They register high on the glycemic index, which can result in spikes in blood sugar. So if you're diabetic, for example, you would want to avoid this. But if blood sugar is not an issue for you, you're probably ok. Sweet potatoes versus other types of potatoes contain about the same amount of nutrients. With the exception of vitamin A. A crazy amount of vitamin A is present in sweet potatoes, but none in regular potatoes. K, so sweet potatoes get the point there. Another, and most significant factor about regular potatoes, is they contain high amounts of a toxin called saponins. These are not at all present in sweet potatoes. Here's the thing about these saponins; they're present in other healthy vegetables as well! Spinach, asparagus, yams, onions, tomatoes and peppers all have varying levels of saponins, all paleo diet approved. Seems a bit silly and contradictory to me. If you want to remove a large amount of this "toxin" from your taters, simply remove the skin. By the way, saponins haven't been researched fully enough to know exactly what levels are enough to cause an adverse response in the body. But the effects are thought to cause some level of gastro-instestinal problems. It seems there is a bit of a debate in the paleo community about these incredibly available potatoes. So my personal decision is to include them in my diet. They have come out the ground, a gift from the earth, in their whole form. Seems legit. I choose to prepare them how I want. It most certainly is not a processed food. And avoiding processed foods is a huge goal in going paleo! 

 And here goes the recipe:

  Roasted Pork chops and veggies

  serves 4

-6 tbsp olive oil

-2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

-1 tbsp smoke paprika

-4 cloves garlic, grated or made into a paste

-salt and pepper

-4 bone in pork chops

-12 oz trimmed green beans

-4 yukon gold potatoes

-1 jarred roasted red pepper, coarsely chopped

 1) Preheat oven to 475 degrees

2) In a large bowl, mix 3 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, paprika, and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops and coat.

3) On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the green beans, potatoes, and red pepper with the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil, season. Spread in an even layer. Nestle the pork chops among the vegetables.

4) Roast, turning the pork chops once, until the vegetables are tender and the chops are just cooked through, about 25 minutes.

 Here are some changes and thoughts on the recipe: First of all, with as much cooking as I do, I still don't own a microplane, so I can't grate my garlic, and making it into a paste would mean adding more salt. No, thanks. Chopping tiny herbs like thyme are usually annoying for me. I happened to get a new coffee grinder for Christmas and I decided I would dedicate that grinder to small tasks like chopping herbs. Despite also getting a beautiful new 9 cup Kitchen Aid food processor from my husband, it's much too big for such a small amount. It worked wonderfully to finely chop the thyme and then to separately grind my garlic into a perfect paste like substance.

Euroware Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder 

Secondly, instead of using jarred roasted red peppers, I used sliced fresh red bell peppers, since they were going to be roasted in in the oven anyway and this would cut out a more processed ingredient.

 The final change I would recommend would be the cooking time.  The recipe calls for a 25 minute total cooking time with one flip of the meat. I followed the directions, only to be disappointed that the chops came out pretty dry and a bit tough. And, I actually had to remove the chops, stir the veggies and roast another 5 minutes to get the potato wedges cooked through. If I did it over, I would roast the veggies for 10 minutes, then add the chops, and cook for an additional 20 minutes. For a total cook time from start to finish of 30 minutes.

Aside from a few smalls tweaks, the overall flavor was delicous! I would make this again.

I'll leave you with 2 sweet selfies Steven snapped this evening when I wasn't looking.

They're pretty much twins. :)